1.New Development Paradigm
More important than the current crisis, we dare to say, is the deeper urban shift from "Making a City" to "Being a City". In most Western countries, "Making the city" has come and gone. Now, the two motors of post-war expansion and urban development – population and wealth – are slowing down.
It's time to start "Being a city". After our cities exploded with people and wealth, and their entire financing models and regulations based on growth, we now face a reset that runs deeper than the crisis – but we can use the crisis as a guide? This shift causes (at least) five new levels of complexity for cities and urban development.
They show the contours of a new development paradigm.
THE NETWORK CITY
Urban development in "Being a City" is a matter of causing movement and dynamics in complex networks and streams. The amount of networks has exploded. Availability, access, and quality of technology all play a role in the future of our connected cities. Global networks are more interwoven than ever, and we will not seen the end of it. This is only the beginning.
THE INTERDISCIPLINARY CITY
All kinds of new combinations are required, such as the idea of the civic economy, which does not act along borders of professions. Urban development in "Being a City" is a mix of impulses in software (urban use, economy), hardware (the urban environment, infrastructure and nodes) and orgware (coalitions, new institutions, networks)
THE FLUID CITY
Before, urban development was a matter of analysing the challenge ahead, making a plan, delivering the plan and taking care of area management. Now, the management is already in place, and it is not possible to make plans for 30 years. Long-term strategies are still needed; however they are toothless if not combined with immediate action. Urban development has become a game of 1 day and 100 years at the same time.
THE GLOBAL CITY
Urban development has become a matter of acting on the local, urban, and global scale all at once. On a neighbourhood and personal level, our local economies are dependent on worldwide networks and our social networks digitally extend to international means.
THE INDEPENDENT CITY
Citizens have become generally wealthier, higher educated, and better equipped with digital networks and don't necessarily accept a strong government presence anymore. Also, strong post-war needs are not felt by everyone at the same time anymore, for many groups have reached a wealth they would like to protect (while others of course have not).
2. New Opportunities in a Complex Situation
NEVER FINISHED
Looking at the paradigm of 'Making a City', we could easily draw the conclusion that the city is now finished; there will be no more, or at least far less, extensive greenfield development. From the paradigm of 'Being a City', however, cities are never finished. The economic, cultural and social needs continue to change, which means a constant need to adapt the existing (economic, social, cultural and physical) urban structures. There is a continuous need to strive for sustainable urban systems, quality of the public realm, the character and soul of urban areas and the quality of economic and social networks. This will however no longer be done from a single government perspective, not within the single context of merely the local scale, and not any more with linear models.
UNTAMEABLE
All of these complexities lead to a far more challenging situation, which cannot be steered by a master plan anymore-that's like telling swarming birds to fly in a straight line by hanging a sign up in the air and then believing it will actually happen! The challenges ahead are 'untameable': they are not linear, uncontrollable, cannot be known, not mechanically organised, and are in systems without a goal. All of these consequences lead to necessary change in the planned city.
However, it has to reinvent a system deep in its tradition, culture, finance models, fantasy, rules, and regulations; it's a paradigm so to say; it is like trying to turn a huge oil tanker.
"DOING NOTHING"
New ideas can be found in the world of sciences dealing with complex systems. The conclusion does not have to be "we will facilitate", often meaning "we are doing nothing", the kind of digital thought where, for instance, a local authority believes it is either responsible or not. Could it be responsible in a different way? Or does civic action need to compensate for the suboptimal results of a flawed system?
NEW DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES
Without being extensive, we see interesting new principles for this more fluid, interdisciplinary, and collaborative urban development, explore them in practice and learn from new thinking in several scientific domains.
A first new principle is variation and selection. As an institution in the planned world, know what you want – but only take action once you see something happening in the lived world that is similar, something to connect with. Or stimulate initiative by organising creative competition. Or inflict pain where creativity can be expected most – like the Empty Property Rates in the UK.
A second new principle is to organize synchronicity: development by co-evolution, by creating unique and
separate subsystems that interact and influence each other. To know, feel, and see where action in the lived and/or the planned world can be synchronised, so that they function as mutual catalysts. It is a type of development based on extensive networks and (predictive?) coincidence.
A third principle is self-organisation. A seed that may have been underground for years but comes to growth by a shower. Almost always very surprising and rarely planned ahead from behind a desk. If there is no selforganisation to strengthen, there will be no ownership, and investment is pointless. Don't over plan: Social Learning Communities are the new important thing: there's something to learn, always, and by everyone.
A fourth principle is identity. It is a resource that connects, that roots back in tradition, that may cause representatives from the lived city to 'permit' the planned city to intervene. The identity of communities is defined more by interest than by geography.
A fifth principle is to start doing. If you want a company on board don't ask them, start doing, show what you are achieving without money and they'll like to be part of it.
Design a project as a learning community for everyone involved and the knowledge will be theirs for the future.
By Jeroen Laven, Stipo
Co-animator CCMetropolisation
An inside perspective. Seeing the city not from above but from inside.
Download at http://www.inta-aivn.org/en/communities-of-competence/metropolisation/events/401-cc/metropolisation/events/1425-inta-at-the-inspiring-city-tour
In principle all cities are arrival cities, only the newcomers are not a mainfocus in the activities of the planned World. Rotterdam, as one of the cities with the highest numbers of arrivals in Europe, for a relatively high percentage of lower social classes, seems to be no exception to this rule.
The group of newcomers is hard to catch. During the exchange we explored many examples of the arrival city. A variety of groups, all with their own reasons to come here. Group with dreams, their own international networks. Groups that sometimes meet, but often live next to eachother. There was inspiration on the moments initiatives helped the groups to intermingle, when boundaries are crossed. These can be large and small projects, but always start with people willing to make the extra step.
Among Rotterdam professionals, working on the city, focusing on the specific challenges, opportunities, threats, for the city if we talk about arrivals, is not a major subject. Yes, there’s the expat desk, and some other small initiatives, but embracing the opportunities of newcomers is not a main theme. It seems that in Rotterdam the main subject is to avoid some groups leaving the city; especially groups with a higher income. How can we help newcomers grow, what does it mean for the urban policy, or the culture of working on the city?
A relatively large part of the people arriving in Rotterdam has a lower education. More than other cities. That may be, but use it as a starting point instead of a problem. Educating these people is a market of itself. Everybody brings opportunities; and if people can realise their dreams, their prosperity and that of the city will grow. Not only for the people arriving but also for their offspring and family.
On the other side the situation of the higher educated expats in Rotterdam shows that chances are missed here. For instance, Rotterdam seems to focus little on English speaking expats. Information for international residents is easier to get in Turkish and Moroccan than English. At the same time, newcomers who only speak English never really seem to arrive in Rotterdam. Dutch people in general speak English well, but to really arrive in Rotterdam you need to speak Dutch.
Newcomers bring a lot of small-scale initiatives. In a time when big projects are no longer realisable, this is an opportunity. Grab it! Energy comes from these small iniatives, where people with passion and professionality start and develop an idea. The local authorities mostly have little or no involvement. There seems to be a parallel with the iniatives we explored during our previous exchange program in London; as described in the newspaper of that experience.
What can professionals, who want to improve the city, do to use the Arrival City theme? To be able to see the potential and help it flourish professionals, such as those working for the local authority, could invest in their knowledge on the newcomers. Not only the question where they are from, but also the question where they want to go. What can the city do for newcomers, and what can newcomers do for the city. Find ways to make newcomers feel welcome, while at the same time using their strength and potential to improve the city as a whole.
A fundamental way to reach that might be to give everyone a chance to become Full Citizen: house, company, education, and let everyone be part of the bigger picture. The rest will go by itself.
In fact we need to take the different scale-layers into account. From global (such as background) to local (area in Rotterdam), from personal demands, to helping the city, etc. An eye opener can be if you don’t see Rotterdam as a city, but as part of a bigger city region, or the Deltametropool as a city. That changes the perspective if you look at arrivals and departures.
The exchange in Rotterdam showed us many inspiring developments. The most important message might be: Be proud of the good, big and small, examples of using the potential of the Arrival City. Help them prosper, use them as inspiration. Open up for new initiatives.
By Stipo
Read more about the event at http://www.inta-aivn.org/en/communities-of-competence/metropolisation/events/401-cc/metropolisation/events/1425-inta-at-the-inspiring-city-tour
As a contribution to this discussion, please visit BazarUrbain website, multidisciplinary group that works on the urban and social environment merging reflections and interventions on the uses, environments and project management. The experience "Le quotidien en projet" within the project Amiens Métropole 2030, seems particularly interesting: 5 urban trips of Amiens area and description of the territories crossed ... http://zoomarchitecture.fr/amiens/